Gladiator starts when the Roman Empire stretched from Africa to England and contained more than one-quarter of the Earth's population. "In the winter of 180 A.D. Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Twelve-Year campaign against the barbarian tribes in Germania was drawing to an end. Just one final stronghold stands in the way of Roman victory and the promise of peace throughout the Empire." The scene then moves to the hand of a man moving through a field of wheat.

A man watches as a redbird flies away in Germania. The man is a general of the Roman army. One man is still missing and has been missing from several hours, but they hope that the troops will still fight. The man finally returns dead on his horse. The Germanian troops refuse to give up and the Romans continue to fight them. Before the general rides off...